| dc.description.abstract | Studies of migration are usually about movement, but what about people who aspire to
migrate but whose attempts to do so remain largely unsuccessful? The focus of this
thesis is not migration per se, but people’s aspirations of transnational mobility. Based
on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2005 and 2007 in Ziguinchor, a
crossroads town in the Casamance region of southern Senegal, this thesis examines how
men and women imagine and attempt to cross international borders. It is important to
consider the push and pull factors behind their aspirations: why does their current
situation make them want to leave Senegal, and equally, why are they attracted to the
West?
I use four examples to address the importance of migration in the life-trajectories of
Senegalese people. I discuss how some women have turned to online-dating websites in
the hope of forming relationships with European men who could lead to a future
outside of Senegal. I then consider a group of women for whom sex-work is not just a
way of making money but a migration strategy in its own right. Men also aspire to
migrate, and using the examples of côtéman (local beach-boys) and clandestine migrants
boarding pirogues to the Canary Islands I discuss male strategies for departure. Côtéman
claim that ‘making contacts’ with tourists is a means to migrating, whereas unlike the
other strategies discussed in this thesis, clandestine migrants do more than just imagine
and embark on illegal sea voyages in the hope of arriving in Europe.
Whilst there are many similarities between male and female migratory aspirations, we
can see very distinct gender differences: women are seeking relationships of dependence
on which to base their futures, whereas men only want temporary assistance. These
new migration strategies exist within a West African country that has a long and
complex history of migrations. Rather than concentrating on the importance of existing
migratory networks, however, this thesis discusses very individualised ways of thinking
about migration. Some of the choices made by hopeful migrants may appear to be both
psychologically and financially irrational, but I show the reasons behind their decisions
to invest time and effort into migration strategies that remain largely unsuccessful. | en |
